"American Hustle" stars Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence pose with producer Megan Ellison after the film won the award for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 12, 2014.

Leonardo DiCaprio poses with the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy for his role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Jan. 12, 2014.

Cate Blanchett poses with the award for best actress in a motion picture - drama for "Blue Jasmine" at Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Jan. 12, 2014.

Matthew McConaughey poses with his award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club" at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Jan. 12, 2014.

Adam Clayton, Bono, Larry Mullen, Jr. and The Edge from the band U2 pose backstage with their award for Best Original Song for" Ordinary Love" from the film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" Jan. 12, 2014.

Michael Douglas holds the Golden Globe Award he won as Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie, for his role in HBO's "Behind the Candelabra" at the HBO after party, after the Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 12, 2014.

LOS ANGELES— A comic crime caper and a drama about slavery earned top honors at the Golden Globe awards Sunday. The prizes, given out annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, mark the start of the award season for the American movie industry.

"American Hustle", from director David O. Russell, took the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy movie. Amy Adams was named best actress in a comedy for her role, in which she starred opposite Christian Bale. The pair played con artists in a fictionalized tale of a 1970s political corruption scandal. Jennifer Lawrence was also honored for her supporting role in "American Hustle".

"12 Years a Slave", from director Steve McQueen, was named the best drama motion picture. The film tells the story of a free black man who was abducted and sold into slavery before the American Civil War.

Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron was named best director for his space drama "Gravity".

Actor Matthew McConaughey poses backstage with his award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club" at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Jan. 12, 2014.

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Actor Matthew McConaughey poses backstage with his award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club" at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Jan. 12, 2014.

Matthew McConaughey was named best actor in a drama movie for his starring role in "Dallas Buyers Club", the tale of a man with AIDS who became an activist for AIDS patients in Texas. The film was based on a real-life story, and the actor said it was difficult to get made.

“This film, Ron Woodruff's story, was an underdog. For 20 years, it was an underdog. Turned down 86 times. No one wanted to put up money for it. We got the right people together,” said McConaughey.

Jared Leto was honored for his supporting role in the film as a transgender AIDS patient.

Cate Blanchett was named best actress in a drama for her role in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine". She thanked the reclusive director, who was absent from the Hollywood event.

“Thank you Woody, for calling me and not calling one of the other incredible women who are in the room this evening, so thank you,” said Blanchett while collecting the award.

Allen was also honored with a lifetime achievement award, accepted by his longtime friend, actress Diane Keaton.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio poses with the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy for his role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" backstage at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Jan. 12, 2014.

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Actor Leonardo DiCaprio poses with the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy for his role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" backstage at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, Jan. 12, 2014.

Leonardo DiCaprio was named best actor in musical or comedy for his role in "The Wolf of Wall Street", a tale of corruption in the financial industry. He thanked the film's director, Martin Scorsese, whom he called a visionary.

“And as the history of cinema unfolds, you'll be regarded as one of the great artists of our time. Thank you for your mentorship,” said DiCaprio.

The Italian production "The Great Beauty" was named best foreign language film.

Adam Clayton (L), Bono (2nd from R), Larry Mullen, Jr. and The Edge (R) from the band U2 pose backstage with their award for Best Original Song for" Ordinary Love" from the film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" , Jan. 12, 2014.

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Adam Clayton (L), Bono (2nd from R), Larry Mullen, Jr. and The Edge (R) from the band U2 pose backstage with their award for Best Original Song for" Ordinary Love" from the film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" , Jan. 12, 2014.

The rock group U2 won the Golden Globe for best original song for "Ordinary Love", which honored Nelson Mandela in the film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom".

Lead singer Bono says the project had special meaning.

“This really is personal for us, very, very personal. This man turned our life upside down, right-side up, a man who refused to hate, not because he didn't have rage or these things, but that he thought love would do a better job,” said Bono.

The Golden Globes mark the start of Hollywood's award season, which will culminate with the Academy Awards – popularly known as the Oscars – on March 2.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

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Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

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A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

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Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

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Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

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The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

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Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

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